A team of Street Pride volunteers, supported by Fenland District Council, toured Wisbech Park spraying brightly coloured, biodegradable paint on to piles of dog mess that had been left behind.

The marked messes are left for a day before being removed to highlight the problem and the effect it has on the district’s open spaces.

The volunteers will be doing the same in other “hotspot” areas of the district over the next two weeks, including March’s West End Park, Furrowfields in Chatteris and the Manor field in Whittlesey.

Council officers will carry out regular patrols of the worst affected areas and issue £75 fixed penalty notices to individuals caught breaking any of the dog control orders.

It is an offence to fail to remove any dog faeces in all open spaces or to take a dog into certain specified places, such as children’s play areas. Failure to keep a dog on a lead in some areas is also an offence.

A man in March was given a £75 fixed penalty notice for allowing his dog to do its mess in the street.

A council enforcement officer was on hand to witness the man open his front door to let his dog out and allow it to do its business in the road outside his property before calling it back in. The man was served his penalty notice on the spot.

Councillor Peter Murphy, who took part in the tour of Wisbech Park. He said: “This is an issue that is raised repeatedly by residents all over the district. It is something that is always worse in the winter when it is dark and some people think they can get away with not clearing up after their dogs.

“By using the paint in this way we’re looking to underline the extent of the problem. We hope that will encourage dog owners who don’t pick the mess up to see how much their selfishness spoils other people’s enjoyment of our open spaces.”

Other areas where council officers will be carrying out enforcement patrols include Heron Road and Jasmine Close in Wisbech, Huntingdon Road and Larham Way in Chatteris, Robingoodfellows Lane and Albert’s Drive in March, Tower Close in Whittlesey and North and South Green in Coates.